Communications device, infrastructure equipment, wireless communications network and methods

ABSTRACT

A communications device is configured to transmit and/or receive signals via a wireless access interface provided by a mobile communications network. The wireless access interface comprising a plurality of transmission units each comprising one or more communications resource elements formed by dividing a system bandwidth in time and frequency. One or more transmission units are configured to form combined transmission units, which can be allocated to communications devices for receiving or transmitting signals. The communications device is configured to receive an indication of a combined transmission unit providing one or more of the transmission units for the communications device, and receive an indication for each of the one or more transmission units of the combined transmission unit of whether the transmission unit is for transmitting signals, whether the transmission unit is for receiving signals or whether the transmission unit is not to be used for transmitting or receiving signals.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a National Stage Application based onPCT/EP2017/060113, filed 27 Apr. 2017, and claims priority to EuropeanPatent Application No. 16169734.7 on 13 May 2016, the entire contents ofwhich being incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND Field of Disclosure

The present disclosure relates to communications devices, which areconfigured to transmit uplink signals to and/or receive downlink signalsfrom an infrastructure equipment of a mobile communications network viaa wireless access interface. The present technique also relates toinfrastructure equipment and methods of communicating.

Description of Related Art

The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose ofgenerally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of thepresently named inventors, to the extent it is described in thisbackground section, as well as aspects of the description which may nototherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neitherexpressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the presentinvention.

Third and fourth generation wireless communications systems, such asthose based on the third generation partnership project (3GPP) definedUMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture are able to supportsophisticated services such as instant messaging, video calls as well ashigh speed internet access. For example, with the improved radiointerface and enhanced data rates provided by LTE systems, a user isable to enjoy high data rate applications such as mobile video streamingand mobile video conferencing that would previously only have beenavailable via a fixed line data connection. The demand to deploy thirdand fourth generation networks is therefore strong and the coverage areaof these networks, i.e. geographic locations where access to thenetworks is possible, is expected to increase rapidly. However, whilstfourth generation networks can support communications at high data rateand low latencies from devices such as smart phones and tabletcomputers, it is expected that future wireless communications networkswill need to support communications to and from a much wider range ofdevices, including reduced complexity devices, machine typecommunication devices, devices which require little or no mobility, highresolution video displays and virtual reality headsets. As such,supporting such a wide range of communications devices can represent atechnical challenge for a wireless communications network.

The wireless access interface of an LTE-type mobile communicationsnetwork is configured to have a time divided frame structure comprisinga frame length of 10 ms, which is comprised of ten subframes having a 1ms duration, with each subframe being comprised of fourteencommunications resource elements of Orthogonal Frequency DivisionMultiplexed (OFDM) symbols. However whilst the frame structure for LTEhas been in general designed to provide high data rates, future radioaccess technologies may be required to support a much greater variety ofapplications and use cases.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

According to an example embodiment of the present technique there isprovided a communications device configured to transmit signals toand/or receive signals from an infrastructure equipment of a mobilecommunications network. The communications device comprises a receiver,a transmitter and a controller. The controller controls the transmitterand the receiver to transmit and/or receiver signals via a wirelessaccess interface provided by the mobile communications network. Thewireless access interface is configured to comprise a plurality oftransmission units, each of the transmission units comprising one ormore communications resource elements. The communications resourceelements are formed by dividing a system bandwidth in time andfrequency. One or more transmission units are configured to formcombined transmission units, which can be allocated by the wirelesscommunications network to communications devices for receiving signalsfrom the infrastructure equipment or transmitting signals to theinfrastructure equipment. The controller is configured with the receiverto receive an indication from the infrastructure equipment of a combinedtransmission unit providing one or more of the transmission units forthe communications device, and to receive an indication for each of theone or more transmission units of the combined transmission unit ofwhether the transmission unit is for transmitting signals to theinfrastructure equipment on the uplink, whether the transmission unit isfor receiving signals from the infrastructure equipment on the downlinkor whether the transmission unit is not to be used for transmitting orreceiving signals

Example embodiments of the present technique can provide an arrangementin which a wireless access interface comprises a plurality ofcommunications resource elements arranged in time and frequency, thewireless access interface being configured and arranged to comprise aplurality of transmission units, each of the transmission unitscomprising a predetermined number of the communications resourceelements. Furthermore, the wireless communications network is configuredto form combined transmission units from one or more of the transmissionunits, which can be allocated by the wireless communications network toone or more communications devices for receiving signals from theinfrastructure equipment or transmitting signals to the infrastructureequipment.

Embodiments of the present technique can be arranged to allocatecommunications resources of a wireless access interface based oncombined transmission units, which can be adapted and configured tosupport a greater variety of applications and use cases.

Further respective aspects and features are defined by the appendedclaims.

The foregoing paragraphs have been provided by way of generalintroduction, and are not intended to limit the scope of the followingclaims. The described embodiments, together with further advantages,will be best understood by reference to the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendantadvantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes betterunderstood by reference to the following detailed description whenconsidered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein likereference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughoutthe several views, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating an example of a mobiletelecommunication system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic representation illustrating a frame structure of adown-link of a wireless access interface according to an LTE standard;

FIG. 3 is a schematic representation illustrating a frame structure ofan up-link of wireless access interface according to an LTE standard;

FIG. 4 is a schematic illustration of different types of transmissionunits according to the present technique;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustration of different examples of combinedtransmission units according to the present technique;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustration of a combined transmission unit whichincludes transmission units for uplink and downlink transmissionsaccording to the present technique;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustration of further example of a combinedtransmission unit which includes transmission units for uplink anddownlink transmissions having an extended down link transmission sectionaccording to the present technique;

FIG. 8 is a schematic illustration of a combined transmission unit whichincludes transmission units for uplink and downlink transmissions whichare configured to support a Multiple Input Multiple Output schemeaccording to the present technique; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic illustration part block diagram illustrating anarrangement in which a communications device receives an indication of acombined transmission unit for transmitting or receiving via a wirelesscommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

Conventional Communications System FIG. 1 provides a schematic diagramillustrating some basic functionality of a mobile telecommunicationsnetwork/system 100 operating in accordance with LTE principles and whichmay be helpful in appreciating the embodiments of the disclosure asdescribed further below. Various elements of FIG. 1 and their respectivemodes of operation are well-known and defined in the relevant standardsadministered by the 3GPP (RTM) body, and also described in many books onthe subject, for example, Holma H. and Toskala A [1]. It will beappreciated that operational aspects of the telecommunications networkwhich are not specifically described below may be implemented inaccordance with any known techniques, for example according to therelevant standards.

The network 100 includes a plurality of base stations 101 connected to acore network 102. Each base station provides a coverage area 103 (i.e. acell) within which data can be communicated to and from communicationsdevices 104. Data is transmitted from base stations 101 tocommunications devices 104 within their respective coverage areas 103via a radio downlink. Data is transmitted from communications devices104 to the base stations 101 via a radio uplink. The uplink and downlinkcommunications are made using radio resources that are licenced forexclusive use by the operator of the network 100. The core network 102routes data to and from the communications devices 104 via therespective base stations 101 and provides functions such asauthentication, mobility management, charging and so on. Communicationsdevices may also be referred to as mobile stations, user equipment (UE),user device, mobile radio, and so forth. Base stations may also bereferred to as transceiver stations/NodeBs/eNodeBs (eNB for short), andso forth.

Wireless communications systems such as those arranged in accordancewith the 3GPP defined Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture use anorthogonal frequency division modulation (OFDM) based interface for theradio downlink (so-called OFDMA) and a single carrier frequency divisionmultiple access scheme (SC-FDMA) on the radio uplink.

FIG. 2 provides a simplified schematic diagram of the structure of adownlink of a wireless access interface that may be provided by or inassociation with the eNB of FIG. 1 when the communications system isoperating in accordance with the LTE standard. In LTE systems thewireless access interface of the downlink from an eNB to a UE is basedupon an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) access radiointerface. In an OFDM interface the resources of the available bandwidthare divided in frequency into a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers anddata is transmitted in parallel on a plurality of orthogonalsubcarriers, where bandwidths between 1.25 MHZ and 20 MHz bandwidth maybe divided into 128 to 2048 orthogonal subcarriers for example. Eachsubcarrier bandwidth may take any value but in LTE it is conventionallyfixed at 15 KHz. However it has been proposed in the future [2][3] toprovide also a reduced subcarrier spacing of 3.75 kHz for certain partsof the LTE wireless access interface for both the uplink and thedownlink. As shown in FIG. 2 , the resources of the wireless accessinterface are also temporally divided into frames where a frame 200lasts 10 ms and is subdivided into 10 subframes 201 each with a durationof 1 ms. Each subframe is formed from 14 OFDM symbols and is dividedinto two slots each of which comprise six or seven OFDM symbolsdepending on whether a normal or extended cyclic prefix is beingutilised between OFDM symbols for the reduction of inter symbolinterference. The resources within a slot may be divided into resourcesblocks 203 each comprising 12 subcarriers for the duration of one slotand the resources blocks further divided into resource elements 204which span one subcarrier for one OFDM symbol, where each rectangle 204represents a resource element. More details of the down-link structureof the LTE wireless access interface are provided in Annex 1.

FIG. 3 provides a simplified schematic diagram of the structure of anuplink of an LTE wireless access interface that may be provided by or inassociation with the eNB of FIG. 1 . In LTE networks the uplink wirelessaccess interface is based upon a single carrier frequency divisionmultiplexing FDM (SC-FDM) interface and downlink and uplink wirelessaccess interfaces may be provided by frequency division duplexing (FDD)or time division duplexing (TDD), where in TDD implementations subframesswitch between uplink and downlink subframes in accordance withpredefined patterns. However, regardless of the form of duplexing used,a common uplink frame structure is utilised. The simplified structure ofFIG. 3 illustrates such an uplink frame in an FDD implementation. Aframe 300 is divided in to 10 subframes 301 of 1 ms duration where eachsubframe 301 comprises two slots 302 of 0.5 ms duration. Each slot isthen formed from seven OFDM symbols 303 where a cyclic prefix 304 isinserted between each symbol in a manner equivalent to that in downlinksubframes. In FIG. 3 a normal cyclic prefix is used and therefore thereare seven OFDM symbols within a subframe, however, if an extended cyclicprefix were to be used, each slot would contain only six OFDM symbols.The resources of the uplink subframes are also divided into resourceblocks and resource elements in a similar manner to downlink subframes.More details of the LTE up-link represented in FIG. 3 are provided inAnnex 1.

Flexible Frame Structure

It has been proposed for future wireless access interfaces to develop aNew Radio Access Technology (NR) [1]. This new Radio Access Technology(RAT) is proposed for a next generation wireless communication system,i.e. 5G. The new RAT is proposed to operate in a large range offrequencies, from hundreds of MHz to 100 GHz and it is expected to covera broad range of use cases. The use cases that are considered for thisnew RAT are:

-   -   Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB)    -   Massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC)    -   Ultra Reliable & Low Latency Communications (URLLC)

This new RAT is also expected to be forward compatible, i.e., the legacydesign should allow future system (e.g. RAT or feature) to easily shareresources with this NR.

One of the aspects for NR is the frame structure to be used fortransmissions. As explained above with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 ,in LTE, the frame structure consists of a downlink subframe 201 anduplink subframe 300 which are fixed to 1 ms duration. LTE was designedwith broadband use cases in mind and hence a fixed 1 ms subframe wasused. However, in NR, the use cases have different (opposing)requirements. For example in URLLC, the transmission needs to be sentquickly with high reliability whereas for mMTC, the transmission isoften tolerant to high latency. In eMBB, the large packet size isexpected to be transmitted frequently whereas in mMTC, small packet sizeis expected infrequently. Hence, a single frame structure such as afixed 1 ms subframe defined in LTE is not suitable to cover such broaduse cases.

Embodiments of the present technique can provide an arrangement in whicha wireless access interface comprises a plurality of communicationsresource elements arranged in time and frequency, the wireless accessinterface being configured and arranged to comprise a plurality oftransmission units, each of the transmission units comprising apredetermined number of the communications resource elements.Furthermore, the wireless communications network is configured to formcombined transmission units from one or more of the transmission units,which can be allocated by the wireless communications network to one ormore communications devices for receiving signals from theinfrastructure equipment or transmitting signals to the infrastructureequipment.

For example the communications resources may be formed into a grid oftime and frequency elements, which may be for example units of OFDMsymbols. One or more of the time and frequency resources define basicbuilding blocks, which can be combined to form a frame structurededicated to a communications device or group of communications devices.In the following paragraphs this building block is referred to asTransmission Unit (TU). A TU consists of a set of resources (e.g.frequency, time, code) that perform one or more functions. Some examplesof TU are:

-   -   Data resources & reference resources    -   Reference resource only    -   Data resource only    -   Blank    -   Synchronisation resources

These examples are shown in FIG. 4 where for illustration purpose we usethe LTE resource element as making-up the communications resources. Herethe TU is two symbols long. It should be appreciated that other TUlengths are possible and they need not be a fixed size and different TUscan have different lengths.

In some examples one or more TUs may be grouped to define a Combined TU(CTU), where the CTU consists of one or more TUs concatenated in time orfrequency. The CTU thus forms a frame structure, similar to a subframein LTE. The network would then signal to the UEs various TUs that formsa CTU where each CTU can then be tailored to a specific use case orapplication. In this way the network has flexibility to transmit a framestructure that is suitable and/or adapted for a particular UE under aparticular use case or application.

In FIG. 4 a first example 400 shows a combination of TU's to form a CTUwhich includes TU's for transmitting data 401 and TU's for transmittingreference symbols 402. As shown for the examples in FIG. 4 each of theexample CTU's comprise TU's of two OFDM symbols and therefore each CTUhas a column width of 2 but a number of rows representing 12 CTU's infrequency. A second example 404 provides a CTU with TU's fortransmission of downlink data only whereas a third TU 406 provides anexample of a CTU with TU's for transmission of reference signals only. Afourth example 408 illustrates a CTU in which nothing is transmitted andis therefore blank whereas a fifth example represents a CTU fortransmission of synchronisation signals 410. As will be appreciates someTU's may be allocated for the downlink and some for the uplink. Twofurther examples 412, 414 provide examples of CTU's for transmission ofuplink data only 412 and uplink reference symbols only 414.

An example illustrating different use cases is shown in FIG. 5 . In FIG.5 a first example CTU 500 provides a CTU for normal downlink datatransmission and therefore includes reference symbols reference TU's 502and TU's for transmitting data 504 but the reference TU's are relativelysparsely arranged for sampling a slow moving or not rapidly changingchannel. In contrast the second example 510 provides a correspondingillustration with each of 3 columns of reference symbols separated bycolumns of data TU's 514. For a second example 510 the CTU is designedfor transmitting data on the downlink to a fast moving UE and thereforethe channel is rapidly changing and therefore requires and increaseddensity of reference signal elements or symbols. A UE may be under highspeed conditions benefit from having more Reference Signals in time(right hand side 510 of FIG. 5 ) compared to another UE that is innormal speed (left hand side 500 of FIG. 5 ). The network can thenindicate one set of TUs for the high speed UE with denser ReferenceSignal and another set of TUs for a normal speed UE that has less denseReference Signal.

The CTU can also be constructed for different functions, for example,for Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency communication (URLLC). For an URLLCapplication, the CTU can enable a fast ACK/NACK for a TDD system such asthe example shown in FIG. 6 . In FIG. 6 , a downlink section 600 isprovided for the transmission of downlink data in data supporting DTU's602 with separate reference symbols 604. An ACK/NACK symbol istransmitted on the uplink in response to the downlink transmission ofdata in the first section 600 in an uplink transmission section 610which is separated by a void or blank section 612. In the left-hand sideof the uplink section 612 the TU's are allocated for transmittingreference symbols whereas the second column of TU's 616 is used fortransmitting data representing the ACK/NACK signal. Here the CTU firstlyconsists of downlink data plus some reference signals followed by someblank TUs. The blank TUs 612 allow the UE to perform timing advance, toswitch from downlink to uplink, process the downlink data and preparefor the acknowledgement in the following uplink TUs. The CTU in FIG. 6can be further extended for example to have longer DL transmission suchas for eMBB as shown in the example in FIG. 7 .

In the example shown in FIG. 7 which corresponds to the example shown inFIG. 6 the CTU is shown to include a first and second section dedicateto the transmission of downlink data providing a normal density ofreference symbols 604 followed by a section 704 which corresponds to theCTU showing in FIG. 6 .

CTU can be formed for massive MIMO transmission (i.e. basestation withlarge number of transmission elements) in TDD, where providing referencesignal and feedback for each of the transmission element is notpractical. In a TDD system, the network can make use of channelreciprocity by providing resource for the UE in the uplink for sendingpilot (reference signals) prior to transmitting downlink (MIMO) data tothe UE in the same resources. A CTU as shown in FIG. 8 can be used forsuch transmission. Here the CTU consists of pilot TUs, followed by blankTUs to allow the network to determine the precoding weights prior tosending the downlink data to the UE. NOTE: In this example the networkcan send a control indicator (e.g. such as a DCI) to the UE in aseparate CTU to schedule the CTU shown in FIG. 8 .

An example embodiments of the present technique in which a UE issignalled a CTU for use in transmitting or receiving data depending onthe CTU as showing in FIG. 9 . As shown in FIG. 9 an eNodeB 901 is shownto include a transmitter 900, a receiver 902 and a controller 904. Thecontroller 904 controllers the transmitter 900 and the receiver 902 totransmit and receiver signals via an antenna 906. The eNodeB 901 isshown to transmit a signalling message 910 to a UE 920. The UE 920includes a transmitter 922, a receiver 924 and a controller 926. Thecontroller 926 controls the transmitter 922 and the receiver 924 totransmit signals to the eNodeB 901 and receiver signals from the eNodeB901 via an antenna 928.

As will be appreciated in order to configure a UE to receive or transmitdata via a CTU, the structure of the CTU and its location within timerand frequency resources providing by a system bandwidth needs to besignalled to a UE 920. As shown in FIG. 9 represented by a grid of boxes940 is a representation of time and frequency resources which areavailable to the eNodeB for allocation to UE's operating within a mobilecommunications network of which the eNodeB 901 forms part. As explainedabove each of the boxes within the grid 904 representing the timedfrequency resources can represent a basic unit of communicationsresource such as a Resource Element. One or more of the units ofcommunications resource can be combined to form a TU which can beallocated by the eNodeB on an individual basis to a UE. The eNodeB canalso determine the type of use which each TU will be dedicated forallocating a CTU to a UE. As shown in FIG. 9 within a bolder block 904representing a CTU which has been allocated to a UE 920 an example CTUis shown to include TU's dedicated to data 944 and TU's dedicated totransmitting reference symbols 946. As shown in FIG. 9 , message element910 is transmitted to the UE 920 which identifies the CTU 942 for use bythe UE in receiving or transmitting data. For example the CTU 942 mayrepresent a downlink transmission of data to the UE 920. Therefore theCTU width 948 may represent the frame length for the UE which may bededicated and tailored to an application being provided by the UE 920.

The CTU can be designed to be self-contained for both TDD and FDD. AnFDD self-contained CTU does not rely on the presence of surroundingstructures in order to be decodable. A TDD self-contained CTU does notrely on surrounding structures and may additionally contain TUs for bothlink directions (in FDD, it would also be possible to define someassociation between TUs in UL and DL directions in order to createself-contained CTU, but this may rely on some known timing relationshipbetween UL and DL carriers). When the CTU are self-contained, it is mucheasier to provide for forward compatibility.

The components of a CTU are signalled to the UE or blind decoded by theUE. The following are embodiments where this can be done.

In an embodiment the synchronization signals (e.g. PSS or SSS in LTE)are transmitted in a known CTU. The sequences in the synchronizationsignal would indicate the CTU construction for the primary broadcastmessage (e.g. PBCH in LTE).

In another embodiment the primary broadcast message is transmitted in aknown CTU and the primary broadcast message would indicate the CTUconstruction for the SIBs. The SIBs can further indicate the CTUconstruction for other common messages.

In another embodiment, the UE blind decodes an initial broadcast channelbased on several blind decoding hypotheses of the CTU construction ofthe broadcast channel. The broadcast channel may then, possiblyhierarchically, define the other CTU constructions to be used in thesystem.

It should be appreciated that there can be a large number of differentTUs combinations leading to a large number of possible CTUs. It islikely that only a small subset of possible CTU constructions are used.

Hence in another embodiment, the broadcast common messages such as PBCHand SIB indicate a set of CTU constructions that are used by thenetwork.

In another embodiment, the indication of the CTU constructions can behierarchical. As an example, a known CTU construction can be applied toa broadcast channel (such as the LTE PBCH). The broadcast channel canthen define a larger set of CTU constructions for a further channeltransmitting system information. The system information channel then maytransmit an even larger set of CTU constructions that are to be used inthe system. This hierarchical approach to signalling CTU constructionshas the advantages of allowing the system to bootstrap while minimisingmessage sizes on channels with constrained message-carrying capacity(such as the broadcast channel).

In another embodiment the possible set of CTUs construction are listedin the specifications and are numerated. The network can then indicatethe CTUs used by signalling the numerated indices in the broadcastmessages (e.g. PBCH and SIB).

In another embodiment the CTU construction is UE specific and indicatedby higher layer messages (e.g. such as RRC). Here the UE upon connectionwould indicate the type of services it requires and the network wouldthen configure a CTU that is suitable for this service. For example ifthe UE requires URLLC, the network can configure a CTU that has veryshort length (e.g. 0.2 ms) to allow message to be sent with quickturnaround time.

A UE configured with one type of CTU will use it until it isreconfigured by another type of CTU. Such reconfiguration can bedependent for example, upon a change to the UE's service or radiocondition.

In another embodiment, the UE is only able to operate with a limited setof CTU constructions. For example, a low complexity MTC device may notbe able to operate with the fast ACK/NACK construction shown in FIG. 6 .In this case, the UE may signal its CTU capability by using a PRACHpreamble resource from a set of PRACH preamble resources. The basestation knows the CTU capability of the device based on the PRACHpreamble used by the device.

In another embodiment, the UE decodes broadcast information on CTUconstructions from a plurality of cells. The UE then camps onto a cellthat uses a CTU construction that is compatible with that UE.

In another embodiment the CTU construction is indicated in the DL or ULgrant (e.g. DCI in LTE) which is sent using layer 1 messages, givinghigh flexibility to the network in each transmission. This allows thenetwork to adapt to the UE's condition and possibly change of services.For example, the UE may initially move in a low speed (e.g. walkingtoward the car) and then suddenly move to high speed (e.g. drive into ahighway) and such dynamic CTU indication would enable smooth transitionof frame structure from low speed to high speed. In the DL grant, theCTU indication can either be explicit, enumerated or implicit:

-   -   explicit: the constituent TUs and their locations are explicitly        defined    -   enumerated: a common message (e.g. PBCH, SIB) enumerates a list        of potential CTU constructions. The DL grant indicates an index        of the enumerated CRU    -   implicit: the CTU construction to use is explicitly understood        by the UE based on other contents of the DCI. For example, if        the DCI indicates a transport block coded with a low coding rate        (for low SNR conditions), the UE implicitly understands that a        CTU construction using a larger number of reference symbols is        used. Another implicit way is based on for example the MCS or        Transport Block size used in the grant which can have a direct        mapping to a specific CTU construction.

In another embodiment, the DL grant (dynamic indication in layer 1message) can indicate a CTU construction that is valid for a fixedduration of period (e.g. X ms). This can reduce the amount of signalingrequired. For example the CTU used in TDD can consists of 4 DL data TUs,some blank TUs and 4 UL data TUs and this can be used for X ms.

In another embodiment a basic CTU construction is signalled to the UEeither using RRC or DL grant and incremental changes to this basic CTUis signalled to the UE further DL grants. For example, the basic CTUconstruction can consists of 4 DL data TUs and if the network canindicate additional DL TUs in steps of 4 DL data TUs to provideadditional resources in the downlink. In another example, the CTUconstruction is indicated by RRC (or specified a-priori) to consist of‘N’ fixed/semi static TUs and ‘M’ TUs that are signalled dynamically inDCI.

In another embodiment some channels such as control channel (e.g. EPDCCHor PDCCH in LTE) uses a semi-static CTU construction that is signalledby higher layers such as RRC. The control channel would then indicatethe CTU construction for the data channel (e.g. PDSCH or PUSCH in LTE)dynamically via a grant. An example the network may transmit to a TDD UEusing massive MIMO and indicate a CTU construction such as that in FIG.8 and at a later scheduling instance it may decide not to use massiveMIMO and schedule the UE using a prolonged DL transmission such as thatin FIG. 7 .

It should be appreciated that by providing flexibility to the framestructure such as using CTU, the network can provide a broad range ofuse cases to different devices within the same carrier.

Various further aspects and features of the present technique aredefined in the following numbered paragraphs:

Paragraph 1. A communications device configured to transmit signals toand/or receive signals from an infrastructure equipment of a wirelesscommunications network, the communications device comprising

-   -   a receiver configured to receive signals transmitted by the        infrastructure equipment,    -   a transmitter configured to transmit signals to the        infrastructure equipment, and    -   a controller configured to control the transmitter and the        receiver, wherein the mobile communications network forms a        wireless access interface comprising a plurality of        communications resource elements by dividing a system bandwidth        in time and frequency, the wireless access interface being        configured as comprising a plurality of transmission units, each        of the transmission units comprising a predetermined number of        the communications resource elements, and one or more        transmission units are configured to form combined transmission        units, which can be allocated by the wireless communications        network to one or more communications devices for receiving        signals from the infrastructure equipment or transmitting        signals to the infrastructure equipment, and the controller is        configured with the receiver    -   to receive an indication from the infrastructure equipment of a        combined transmission unit providing one or more transmission        units for the communications device, and    -   to receive an indication for each of the one or more        transmission units of the combined transmission unit of whether        the transmission unit is for transmitting signals to the        infrastructure equipment -on the uplink, whether the        transmission unit is for receiving signals from the        infrastructure equipment on the downlink or whether the        transmission unit is not to be used for transmitting or        receiving signals        Paragraph 2. A communications device according to paragraph 1,        wherein the controller in combination with the receiver is        configured to receive an indication of a type of signals which        are to be transmitted or received in each of the transmission        units.        Paragraph 3. A communications device according to paragraph 2,        wherein the indicated type of signals which are to be        transmitted or received in the transmission units includes one        of signals representing data, signals representing reference        signals, signals representing synchronisation signals or an        indication that no signals are to be transmitted.        Paragraph 4. A communications device according to paragraph 1, 2        or 3, wherein the controller is configured with the receiver to        receive an indication from the infrastructure equipment that the        combined transmission unit is allocated repeatedly.        Paragraph 5. A communications device according to paragraph 4,        wherein the combined transmission unit is allocated repeatedly        for a predetermined number of times according to semi-persistent        allocation.        Paragraph 6. A communications device as claims in claim 4,        wherein the combined transmission unit is allocated repeatedly        until the receiver receives an indication from the        infrastructure equipment terminating the allocation.        Paragraph 7. A communications device as claims in any of claims        1 to 6, wherein the controller is configured with the receiver        to receive an indication from the infrastructure equipment that        the allocated combined transmission unit is changed to a        different combined transmission unit providing a different        configuration of one or more transmission units.        Paragraph 8. A communications device according to any of        paragraphs 1 to 7, wherein a temporal length of the combined        transmission unit of the communications resources elements of        the transmission units provides a frame structure for        transmitting data represented as signal or receiving data        represented as signal in each repeated occurrence of the        combined transmission unit.        Paragraph 9. A communications device according to any of        paragraphs 2 to 8, wherein the combined transmission unit        provides one or more transmission units for receiving signals        from the infrastructure equipment on the downlink and one or        more transmission units for transmitting signals on the uplink.        Paragraph 10. A communications device according to paragraph 9,        wherein the one or more transmission units provided for        receiving signals from the infrastructure equipment on the        downlink are arranged together and before the one or more        transmission units for transmitting signals on the uplink, the        one or more downlink transmission units being configured for        receiving a data unit and the one or more uplink transmission        units being configured for transmitting an acknowledgement of        successfully receiving the data unit or transmitting a negative        acknowledgement of not successfully receiving the data unit.        Paragraph 11. A communications device according to any of        paragraphs 1 to 10, wherein the transmitter and the receiver are        configured in accordance with a default combined transmission        unit providing one or more transmission units for receiving the        indication of the combined transmission unit.        Paragraph 12 A method of transmitting signals to an        infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network        from a communications device and/or receiving signals at the        communications device transmitted from the infrastructure        equipment, the method comprising    -   receiving an indication from the infrastructure equipment of a        combined transmission unit providing one or more transmission        units for the communications device, and    -   receiving an indication for each of the one or more transmission        units of the combined transmission unit of whether the        transmission unit is for transmitting signals to the        infrastructure equipment on the uplink, whether the transmission        unit is for receiving signals transmitted from the        infrastructure equipment on the downlink or whether the        transmission unit is not to be used for transmitting signals or        receiving signals, the one or more transmission units being        provided from a wireless access interface within a system        bandwidth of the wireless communications network a plurality of        communications resource elements divided in time and frequency,        each transmission unit comprising one or more of the        communications resource elements configured as the transmission        units, and the one or more transmission units being used to form        the combined transmission unit.        Paragraph 13. A method according to paragraph 12, comprising    -   receiving an indication a type of signals which are to be        transmitted or receive in each of the transmission units.        Paragraph 14. A method according to paragraph 12 or 13, wherein        the indicated type of signals which are to be transmitted or        received in the transmission units includes one of signals        representing data, signals representing reference signals,        signals representing synchronisation signals or an indication        that no signals are to be transmitted.        Paragraph 15. A method according to paragraph 12, 13 or 14,        comprising    -   receiving an indication from the infrastructure equipment that        the combined transmission unit is allocated repeatedly.        Paragraph 16. A method according to paragraph 15, wherein the        received indication indicates that the combined transmission        unit is allocated repeatedly for a predetermined number of times        according to semi-persistent allocation.        Paragraph 17. A method as claims in claim 15, wherein the        received indication indicates that the combined transmission        unit is allocated repeatedly until the receiver receives an        indication from the infrastructure equipment terminating the        allocation.        Paragraph 18. A method as claims in any of claims 12 to 17,        comprising    -   receiving an indication from the infrastructure equipment that        the allocated combined transmission unit is changed to a        different combined transmission unit providing a different        configuration of one or more transmission units.        Paragraph 19. A method according to any of paragraphs 12 to 18,        wherein a temporal length of the combined transmission unit of        the communications resources elements of the transmission units        provides a frame structure for transmitting data represented as        signal or receiving data represented as signal in each repeated        occurrence of the combined transmission unit.        Paragraph 20. An infrastructure equipment for forming part of a        wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment        comprising    -   a receiver configured to receive signals transmitted by one or        more communications devices,    -   a transmitter configured to transmit signals to the one or more        communications devices, and    -   a controller configured to control the transmitter and the        receiver and to allocate communications resource elements of a        wireless access interface, the wireless access interface        comprising a plurality of communications resource elements        formed by dividing a system bandwidth in time and frequency,        wherein the controller is configured to configure the wireless        access interface as comprising a plurality of transmission        units, each of the transmission units comprising a predetermined        number of the communications resource elements, and one or more        transmission units are configured to form combined transmission        units, which can be allocated by the infrastructure equipment to        one or more of the communications devices for receiving signals        from the infrastructure equipment or transmitting signals to the        infrastructure equipment, and the controller is configured with        the transmitter    -   to transmit an indication to a communications device of a        combined transmission unit providing one or more transmission        units for the communications device, and    -   to transmit an indication for each of the one or more        transmission units of the combined transmission unit of whether        the transmission unit is for transmitting signals to the        infrastructure equipment -on the uplink, whether the        transmission unit is for receiving signals from the        infrastructure equipment on the downlink or whether the        transmission unit is not to be used for transmitting signals.        Paragraph 21. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph        20, wherein the controller in combination with the transmitter        is configured to transmit an indication an indication a type of        signals which are to be transmitted or receive in each of the        transmission units.        Paragraph 22. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph        21, wherein the indicated type of signals which are to be        transmitted or received in the transmission units includes one        of signals representing data, signals representing reference        signals, signals representing synchronisation signals or an        indication that no signals are to be transmitted.        Paragraph 23. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph        20, 21 or 22, wherein the controller is configured with the        transmitter to transmit an indication to the communications        device that the combined transmission unit is allocated        repeatedly.        Paragraph 24. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph        23, wherein the combined transmission unit is allocated        repeatedly for a predetermined number of times according to        semi-persistent allocation.        Paragraph 25. An infrastructure equipment as claims in claim 23,        wherein the combined transmission unit is allocated repeatedly        until the receiver receives an indication from the        infrastructure equipment terminating the allocation.        Paragraph 26. An infrastructure equipment as claims in any of        claims 20 to 25, wherein the controller is configured with the        transmitter to transmit an indication to the communications        device that the allocated combined transmission unit is changed        to a different combined transmission unit providing a different        configuration of one or more transmission units.        Paragraph 27. An infrastructure equipment according to any of        paragraphs 20 to 26, wherein a temporal length of the combined        transmission unit of the communications resources elements of        the transmission units provides a frame structure for        transmitting data represented as signal or receiving data        represented as signal in each repeated occurrence of the        combined transmission unit.        Paragraph 28. An infrastructure equipment according to any of        paragraphs 20 to 27, wherein the combined transmission unit        provides one or more transmission units for receiving signals        from the communications device on the uplink and one or more        transmission units for transmitting signals to the        communications device on the downlink.        Paragraph 29. An infrastructure equipment according to paragraph        28, wherein the one or more transmission units provided for        transmitting signals to the communications device on the        downlink are arranged together and before the one or more        transmission units for receiving signals from the communications        device on the uplink, the one or more downlink transmission        units being configured for transmitting a data unit and the one        or more uplink transmission units being configured for receiving        an acknowledgement of successfully transmitting the data unit or        receiving a negative acknowledgement of not successfully        transmitting the data unit.

Numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure arepossible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to beunderstood that within the scope of the appended claims, the disclosuremay be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.

In so far as embodiments of the disclosure have been described as beingimplemented, at least in part, by software-controlled data processingapparatus, it will be appreciated that a non-transitory machine-readablemedium carrying such software, such as an optical disk, a magnetic disk,semiconductor memory or the like, is also considered to represent anembodiment of the present disclosure.

It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity hasdescribed embodiments with reference to different functional units,circuitry and/or processors. However, it will be apparent that anysuitable distribution of functionality between different functionalunits, circuitry and/or processors may be used without detracting fromthe embodiments.

Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable form includinghardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Describedembodiments may optionally be implemented at least partly as computersoftware running on one or more data processors and/or digital signalprocessors. The elements and components of any embodiment may bephysically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way.Indeed the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in aplurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, thedisclosed embodiments may be implemented in a single unit or may bephysically and functionally distributed between different units,circuitry and/or processors.

Although the present disclosure has been described in connection withsome embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific formset forth herein. Additionally, although a feature may appear to bedescribed in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in theart would recognize that various features of the described embodimentsmay be combined in any manner suitable to implement the technique.

Annex 1:

The simplified structure of the downlink of an LTE wireless accessinterface presented in FIG. 2 , also includes an illustration of eachsubframe 201, which comprises a control region 205 for the transmissionof control data, a data region 206 for the transmission of user data,reference signals 207 and synchronisation signals which are interspersedin the control and data regions in accordance with a predeterminedpattern. The control region 204 may contain a number of physicalchannels for the transmission of control data, such as a physicaldownlink control channel PDCCH, a physical control format indicatorchannel PCFICH and a physical HARQ indicator channel PHICH. The dataregion may contain a number of physical channel for the transmission ofdata, such as a physical downlink shared channel PDSCH and a physicalbroadcast channels PBCH. Although these physical channels provide a widerange of functionality to LTE systems, in terms of resource allocationand the present disclosure PDCCH and PDSCH are most relevant. Furtherinformation on the structure and functioning of the physical channels ofLTE systems can be found in W.

Resources within the PDSCH may be allocated by an eNodeB to UEs beingserved by the eNodeB. For example, a number of resource blocks of thePDSCH may be allocated to a UE in order that it may receive data that ithas previously requested or data which is being pushed to it by theeNodeB, such as radio resource control RRC signalling. In FIG. 2 , UE1has been allocated resources 208 of the data region 206, UE2 resources209 and UE resources 210. UEs in a an LTE system may be allocated afraction of the available resources of the PDSCH and therefore UEs arerequired to be informed of the location of their allocated resourceswithin the PDCSH so that only relevant data within the PDSCH is detectedand estimated. In order to inform the UEs of the location of theirallocated communications resources, resource control informationspecifying downlink resource allocations is conveyed across the PDCCH ina form termed downlink control information DCI, where resourceallocations for a PDSCH are communicated in a preceding PDCCH instancein the same subframe. During a resource allocation procedure, UEs thusmonitor the PDCCH for DCI addressed to them and once such a DCI isdetected, receive the DCI and detect and estimate the data from therelevant part of the PDSCH.

Each uplink subframe may include a plurality of different channels, forexample a physical uplink shared channel PUSCH 305, a physical uplinkcontrol channel PUCCH 306, and a physical random access channel PRACH.The physical Uplink Control Channel PUCCH may carry control informationsuch as ACK/NACK to the eNodeB for downlink transmissions, schedulingrequest indicators SRI for UEs wishing to be scheduled uplink resources,and feedback of downlink channel state information CSI for example. ThePUSCH may carry UE uplink data or some uplink control data. Resources ofthe PUSCH are granted via PDCCH, such a grant being typically triggeredby communicating to the network the amount of data ready to betransmitted in a buffer at the UE. The PRACH may be scheduled in any ofthe resources of an uplink frame in accordance with a one of a pluralityof PRACH patterns that may be signalled to UE in downlink signallingsuch as system information blocks. As well as physical uplink channels,uplink subframes may also include reference signals. For example,demodulation reference signals DMRS 307 and sounding reference signalsSRS 308 may be present in an uplink subframe where the DMRS occupy thefourth symbol of a slot in which PUSCH is transmitted and are used fordecoding of PUCCH and PUSCH data, and where SRS are used for uplinkchannel estimation at the eNodeB. Further information on the structureand functioning of the physical channels of LTE systems can be found in[1].

In an analogous manlier to the resources of the PDSCH, resources of thePUSCH are required to be scheduled or granted by the serving eNodeB andthus if data is to be transmitted by a UE, resources of the PUSCH arerequired to be granted to the UE by the eNode B. At a UE, PUSCH resourceallocation is achieved by the transmission of a scheduling request or abuffer status report to its serving eNodeB. The scheduling request maybe made, when there is insufficient uplink resource for the UE to send abuffer status report, -via the transmission of Uplink ControlInformation UCI on the PUCCH when there is no existing PUSCH allocationfor the UE, or by transmission directly on the PUSCH when there is anexisting PUSCH allocation for the LTE. In response to a schedulingrequest, the eNodeB is configured to allocate a portion of the PUSCHresource to the requesting. UE sufficient for transferring a bufferstatus report and then inform the UE of the buffer status reportresource allocation via a DCI in the PDCCH. Once or if the UE has PUSCHresource adequate to send a buffer status report, the buffer statusreport is sent to the eNodeB and gives the eNodeB information regardingthe amount of data in an uplink buffer or buffers at the UE. Afterreceiving the buffer status report, the eNodeB can allocate a portion ofthe PUSCH resources to the sending HE in order to transmit some of itsbuffered uplink data and then inform the UE of the resource allocationvia a DCI in the PDCCH. For example, presuming a LT has a connectionwith the eNodeB, the UE will first transmit a PUSCH resource request inthe PUCCH in the form of a UCI. The UE will then monitor the PDCCH foran appropriate DCI, extract the details of the PUSCH resourceallocation, and transmit uplink data-, at first comprising a bufferstatus report, and or later comprising a portion of the buffered data,in the allocated resources.

Although similar in structure to downlink subframes, uplink subframeshave a different control structure to downlink subframes, in particularthe upper 309 and lower 310 subcarriers/frequencies/resource blocks ofan uplink subframe are reserved for control signaling rather than theinitial symbols of a downlink subframe. Furthermore, although theresource allocation procedure for the downlink and uplink are relativelysimilar, the actual structure of the resources that may be allocated mayvary due to the different characteristics of the OFDM and SC-FDMinterfaces that are used in the downlink and uplink respectively. InOFDM each subcarrier is individually modulated and therefore it is notnecessary that frequency/subcarrier allocation are contiguous however,in SC-FDM subcarriers are modulation in combination and therefore ifefficient use of the available resources are to be made contiguousfrequency allocations for each UE are preferable.

As a result of the above described wireless interface structure andoperation, one or more UEs may communicate data to one another via acoordinating eNodeB, thus forming a conventional cellulartelecommunications system. Although cellular communications system suchas those based on the previously released LTE standards have beencommercially successful, a number of disadvantages are associated withsuch centralised systems. For example, if two UEs which are in closeproximity wish to communicate with each other, uplink and downlinkresources sufficient to convey the data are required. Consequently, twoportions of the system's resources are being used to convey a singleportion of data. A second disadvantage is that an eNodeB is required ifUEs, even when in close proximity, wish to communicate with one another.These limitations may be problematic when the system is experiencinghigh load or eNodeB coverage is not available, for instance in remoteareas or when eNodeBs are not functioning correctly. Overcoming theselimitations may increase both the capacity and efficiency of LTEnetworks but also lead to the creations of new revenue possibilities forLTE network operators.

REFERENCES

-   [1] LTE for UMTS: OFDMA and SC-FDMA Based Radio Access, Harris Holma    and Antti Toskala, Wiley 2009, ISBN 978-0-470-99401-6.-   [2] RP-160671, “New SID Proposal: Study on New Radio Access    Technology,” NTT DOCOMO, R AN #71

What is claimed is:
 1. A communications device configured to perform oneor more of transmitting signals to and receiving signals from aninfrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, thecommunications device, comprising: a receiver configured to receivesignals transmitted by the infrastructure equipment; a transmitterconfigured to transmit signals to the infrastructure equipment; andcircuitry configured to control the transmitter and the receiver,wherein the wireless communications network forms a wireless accessinterface comprising a plurality of communications resource elements bydividing a system bandwidth in time and frequency, the wireless accessinterface being configured as a plurality of transmission resources,each of the plurality of transmission resources comprising apredetermined number of the communications resource elements, and one ormore transmission resources are configured to form combined transmissionunits, which can be allocated by the wireless communications network toone or more communications devices for receiving signals from theinfrastructure equipment or transmitting signals to the infrastructureequipment, and the circuitry is configured to receive an indication,from the infrastructure equipment, of a location within time andfrequency resources and a construction of a combined transmission unit,wherein a dynamic configuration of the communications device to receiveor transmit data via the combined transmission unit is based on thelocation within the time and frequency resources and the construction ofthe combined transmission unit, wherein a width of the combinedtransmission unit represents a frame length for the communicationsdevice which is tailored to an application being provided by thecommunications device, wherein the combined transmission unit providesone or more transmission resources for the communications device,wherein the indication is a downlink or uplink grant, and the indicationis an explicit indication, receive an indication for each of the one ormore transmission resources of the combined transmission units ofwhether the transmission resource is for transmitting signals to theinfrastructure equipment on the uplink, whether the transmissionresource is for receiving signals from the infrastructure equipment onthe downlink or whether the transmission resource is not to be used fortransmitting or receiving signals, and receive an indication of a typeof signals which are to be transmitted or received in each of thetransmission resources, wherein the indicated type of signals which areto be transmitted or received in the transmission resources includes anindication that no signals are to be transmitted.
 2. The communicationsdevice as claimed in claim 1, wherein the circuitry is furtherconfigured with the receiver to receive an indication from theinfrastructure equipment that the combined transmission unit isallocated repeatedly.
 3. The communications device as claimed in claim2, wherein the combined transmission unit is allocated repeatedly for apredetermined number of times according to semi-persistent allocation.4. The communications device as claims in claim 2, wherein the combinedtransmission unit is allocated repeatedly until the receiver receives anindication from the infrastructure equipment terminating the allocation.5. The communications device as claims in claim 1, wherein the circuitryis further configured with the receiver to receive an indication fromthe infrastructure equipment that the allocated combined transmissionunit is changed to a different combined transmission unit providing adifferent configuration of one or more transmission resources.
 6. Thecommunications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein a temporal lengthof the combined transmission unit of the communications resourceselements of the transmission resources provides a frame structure fortransmitting data represented as signal or receiving data represented assignal in each of a repeated occurrence of the combined transmissionunit.
 7. The communications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein thecombined transmission unit provides one or more transmission resourcesfor receiving signals from the infrastructure equipment on the downlinkand one or more transmission resources for transmitting signals on theuplink.
 8. The communications device as claimed in claim 7, wherein theone or more transmission resources provided for receiving signals fromthe infrastructure equipment on the downlink are arranged together andbefore the one or more transmission resources for transmitting signalson the uplink, the one or more downlink transmission resources beingconfigured for receiving data and the one or more uplink transmissionresources being configured for transmitting an acknowledgement ofsuccessfully receiving the data or transmitting a negativeacknowledgement of not successfully receiving the data.
 9. Thecommunications device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the transmitter andthe receiver are configured in accordance with a default combinedtransmission unit, wherein the default combined transmission unitprovides one or more transmission resources for receiving the indicationof the combined transmission unit.
 10. The communications device asclaimed in claim 1, wherein the indicated type of signals which are tobe transmitted or received in the transmission units includes signalsrepresenting synchronization signals.
 11. A method of one or more oftransmitting signals to an infrastructure equipment of a wirelesscommunications network from a communications device and receivingsignals at the communications device transmitted from the infrastructureequipment, the method comprising receiving an indication, from theinfrastructure equipment, of a location within time and frequencyresources and a construction of a combined transmission unit, wherein adynamic configuration of the communications device to receive ortransmit data via the combined transmission unit is based on thelocation within the time and frequency resources and the construction ofthe combined transmission unit, wherein a width of the combinedtransmission unit represents a frame length for the communicationsdevice which is tailored to an application being provided by thecommunications device, wherein the combined transmission unit providesone or more transmission resources for the communications device, andwherein the indication is a downlink or uplink grant, and the indicationis an explicit indication; receiving an indication for each of the oneor more transmission resources of the combined transmission units ofwhether the transmission resource is for transmitting signals to theinfrastructure equipment on the uplink, whether the transmissionresource is for receiving signals transmitted from the infrastructureequipment on the downlink or whether the transmission resource is not tobe used for transmitting signals or receiving signals, the one or moretransmission resources being provided from a wireless access interfacewithin a system bandwidth of the wireless communications network aplurality of communications resource elements divided in time andfrequency, each transmission resource comprising one or more of thecommunications resource elements configured as the transmissionresources, and the one or more transmission resources being used to formthe combined transmission unit; and receiving an indication of a type ofsignals which are to be transmitted or received in each of thetransmission resources, wherein the indicated type of signals which areto be transmitted or received in the transmission resources includes anindication that no signals are to be transmitted.
 12. The method asclaimed in claim 11, comprising receiving an indication from theinfrastructure equipment that the combined transmission unit isallocated repeatedly.
 13. The method as claimed in claim 12, wherein thereceived indication indicates that the combined transmission unit isallocated repeatedly for a predetermined number of times according tosemi-persistent allocation.
 14. The method as claims in claim 12,wherein the received indication indicates that the combined transmissionunit is allocated repeatedly until the receiver receives an indicationfrom the infrastructure equipment terminating the allocation.
 15. Themethod as claims in claim 11, comprising receiving an indication fromthe infrastructure equipment that the allocated combined transmissionunit is changed to a different combined transmission unit providing adifferent configuration of one or more transmission resources.
 16. Themethod as claimed in claim 11, wherein a temporal length of the combinedtransmission unit of the communications resources elements of thetransmission resources provides a frame structure for transmitting datarepresented as signal or receiving data represented as signal in eachrepeated occurrence of the combined transmission unit.
 17. Aninfrastructure equipment for forming part of a wireless communicationsnetwork, the infrastructure equipment comprising a receiver configuredto receive signals transmitted by one or more communications devices; atransmitter configured to transmit signals to the one or morecommunications devices; and circuitry configured to control thetransmitter and the receiver and to allocate communications resourceelements of a wireless access interface, the wireless access interfacebeing configured as a plurality of communications resource elementsformed by dividing a system bandwidth in time and frequency, wherein thewireless access interface comprises a plurality of transmissionresources, each of the plurality of transmission resources comprising apredetermined number of the communications resource elements, and one ormore transmission resources are configured to form combined transmissionunits, which can be allocated by the infrastructure equipment to one ormore of the communications devices for receiving signals from theinfrastructure equipment or transmitting signals to the infrastructureequipment, and the circuitry is configured to transmit an indication, toa communications device, of a location within time and frequencyresources and a construction of a combined transmission unit providingone or more transmission resources for the communications device,wherein a dynamic configuration of the communications device to receiveor transmit data via the combined transmission unit is based on thelocation within the time and frequency resources and the construction ofthe combined transmission unit, wherein a width of the combinedtransmission unit represents a frame length for the communicationsdevice which is tailored to an application being provided by thecommunications device, wherein the indication is a downlink or uplinkgrant, and the indication is an explicit indication, transmit anindication for each of the one or more transmission resources of thecombined transmission unit of whether the transmission resource is fortransmitting signals to the infrastructure equipment on the uplink,whether the transmission resource is for receiving signals from theinfrastructure equipment on the downlink or whether the transmissionresource is not to be used for transmitting signals, and transmit anindication of a type of signals which are to be transmitted or receivedin each of the transmission resources, wherein the indicated type ofsignals which are to be transmitted or received in the transmissionresources includes an indication that no signals are to be transmitted.